In Coach Rob Murphy’s first trip back to Syracuse on Tuesday, the Eastern Michigan University basketball team lost 84-48.
No. 4 Syracuse is 7-0, and the Eagles (4-3) lost their second game in a row. Murphy had been an assistant at Syracuse under coach Jim Boeheim.
“He did a great job, he’s a great coach, and he’s a great guy,” Boeheim said of Murphy. “I really love the guy. He was unbelievable for us — what he brought to the table for us over the years, as a coach and as a recruiter. He’s done a great job. This team won nine games last year, they lost their two best players and he’s done a tremendous job. They played great tonight and we just obviously have some more personnel.”
Turnovers were the story of the game as the Eagles turned the ball over 17 times, 13 of which were forced by the Orange. Syracuse, however, committed six turnovers.
The Eagles hung with the Orange throughout the first half, going into the locker room down 32-24. Darrell Lampley had a game-high 12 points at the half.
Lampley led the Eagles with 19 points while Matt Balkema added nine and J.R. Sims had seven. Sims and Quintin Dailey led the Eagles on the boards with four rebounds a piece with Balkema, Antonio Green and Kamil Janton adding three each.
“He’s got some guys sitting out there to really help him,” Boeheim said. “He’s got a good system- I don’t know where he got that system — but it’s a good system, and I think he’ll do well with it.”
EMU opened the second half on an offensive drought and the Orange’s lead quickly opened up to a 42-26 advantage. From there, the Eagles would not come within 12 points before Syracuse’s lead expanded to 74-43 with 4:11 left.
The Orange were led by James Southerland with 19 points, who shot 7-for-11 and had five rebounds and three steals. Brandon Triche added 12 points, which came off of four three-pointers, and four assists while Kris Joseph had 11 points and four rebounds.
The Eagles will close their New York trip with a matchup against with the 2-3 Colgate Raiders at 7 p.m. today in Hamilton.
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Quotes from Boeheim came from Syracuse University’s website._
